


walk away, watch me burn

by gertiemcfuzz



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Friends With Benefits, Happy Ending, I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 21:04:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5600863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gertiemcfuzz/pseuds/gertiemcfuzz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time it had happened had been a perfect storm, and Kara was sure that if either of their days had gone even a little differently things would still be just as they had been back then, before the world turned on its head, throwing her around like a leaf in a hurricane.</p>
            </blockquote>





	walk away, watch me burn

**Author's Note:**

> Sometime this week, I may actually get one of these in before the end of the day. Nonetheless, Happy New Year!

The first time it had happened had been a perfect storm, and Kara was sure that if either of their days had gone even a little differently things would still be just as they had been back then, before the world turned on its head, throwing her around like a leaf in a hurricane.

It was a Thursday evening, just after seven, when she got a text from her boss asking if she would come by her penthouse and drop off a file that’d she had left on her desk, research for a new story Cat herself was working on.

Kara had just had a date from hell, someone who knew someone who knew a son of Eliza’s friend or some mess; Eliza had been insisting for the last two months - since Thanksgiving - that she start dating more, _“Being Supergirl isn’t everything, darling, you need a bigger support system than just your sister.”_ She was really starting to miss the days when these complaints were fielded through Alex first. Nonetheless she’d decided to go on the blind date her foster mother had arranged hoping it may tame her for a little while.

Her date, Blaine, had been condescending and presumptuous. When she told him that she had majored in journalism in college he tried to go on to explain how he knew all about media having taken one communications class in his freshman year. When she’d politely tried to correct him, he’d told her she was wrong and couldn’t possibly understand since she was just a secretary. And then, when she’d called for the check, ready to get as far away from him as possible, he had the audacity to assume she was ready to leave so they could go back to her place, saying it was cool because he’d never banged a chick with glasses before.

She may or may not have removed his hand from her ass with enough force to break a finger or two…by accident.

The rest of her day hadn’t been any better, Alex had suddenly become all buddy-buddy with Hank without an explanation, making her feel very left out, and Winn wouldn’t stop shooting her wounded puppy looks every two seconds from his desk, like she was somehow the bad guy for not being attracted to him. And she really just wanted someone to vent to, but James would just give her that sympathetic big brother look and try to fix things, and she didn’t want things to be fixed, she just wanted to complain, but Alex was being weird and Lucy was out of town so she was left annoyed and frustrated.

She was only a block away from CatCo. so she quickly sent a response to her boss, promising to be there soon before slipping her phone back in her pocket, letting her bag drop a little from her shoulder to the crook of her elbow to search for the keycard that would give her access to the building.

///

On the other side of town, Cat Grant felt her phone vibrate, less than thirty seconds and Kara had responded, although she’d never admit it, she really did rely heavily on her assistant, and as of late Cat wasn’t sure CatCo. would be able to function without her. She may have built her empire from the ground-up but without Kara’s supreme attention to detail it’d be much harder to keep everything running smoothly.

Today was one of those days where Cat needed that kind of stability most. The board was still all over her after everything that had happened with Dirk, she’d gotten half a dozen emails informing her that a formatting error in the CatCo. magazine meant that they’d have to reprint nearly 30,000 copies that had already be wrapped and ready for distribution, and to make matters worse, she’d had a blowout with Carter’s father right after she’d arrived home.

_She’d barely had time to set her things down when there was a knock at the door, she’d opened it and let her ex in._

_“You’re early, which means you either forgot to set your watch after daylight savings time or…” She trailed off, already knowing what his early arrival meant._

_“I needed to talk to you, before he got home.” The rough voice that used to be such a turn-on was now incredibly irritating._

_“No, you have bad news that you want to tell me because you want me to be the one to tell our son so_ you _don’t have to.”_

_“Why do you always have to be so difficult?” He groaned out._

_“Why do you always have to be such a disappointment?”_

_“This is why we got divorced, you are incapable of having a conversation without going all She-Hulk.”_

_“We got divorced because you were around as frequently as a gymnast’s period.” She corrected._

_He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, “Look, I don’t want to fight, I just wanted to tell you that I won’t be able to make that convention thing next week, I’ve got a business trip in Vegas.”_

_“Well, I hope your_ ‘business trip’ _likes missionary.” She spit back._

_Cat was about ready to toss him out on his ass, Carter had been talking about going to the Astronomy Convention for months, it was even planned on a day where a rare comet was going to passing right overhead._

_Before either had the chance to say anything else, Carter came barreling though the door, words already spilling out of his mouth about a new telescope his teacher was going to let him borrow that came with multiple filters which would let him see his favorite star clusters with better detail._

After stewing in her anger for twenty minutes after Carter and his father had left, she’d decided to use the night that she’d previously had planned on using to relax and catch-up on reading to work instead.

She was just heading toward her kitchen to pour herself a glass of rosé when she heard the knock at her door, she’d stopped just long enough to swing the door open before continuing on her original path, knowing Kara would follow her.

When she finally turned around to see the girl standing patiently behind her, she was surprised to see that gone were the cardigans and questionably colored pants, instead Kara wore something much closer to the outfit Supergirl had been wearing that first night with the plane.

“Did I interrupt something?” She asked.

“Oh, no.” Kara replied, “I had a date but it was already over.”

“And over so early…so either it was awful or Supergirl has exceptionally high expectations.”

“His name was Blaine.” Was all Kara replied with.

Cat gave her a look that told her she needn’t say more. “I’m going to need you to clear my schedule for next Saturday as soon as you get the chance; I will be taking Carter to an astronomy convention.”

“Is he okay?” Kara said with a sigh, she’d made the original arrangements a month ago and knew that his father was supposed to be the one taking him, she’d rescheduled enough of Carter’s meetings with his father to know better than to be surprised.

Cat moved her hand in a way that told Kara she didn’t want to discuss it, feeling her anger with her ex flare up again when she considered the fact that her assistant probably knew more about Carter’s everyday comings and goings than his own father.  

“Right, well, here is that research you asked for.” Kara said, holding out the file that had been tucked under her arm.

As Cat reached out to grab it, Kara let go an instant too early, sometimes forgetting that humans don’t have reflexes as fast as her own. They both bent down to make a grab for it at the same time, standing to find themselves a breath apart.

Before realizing what she was doing, Kara reached out and put a hand on one of Cat’s hips, whether to steady her boss or herself she wasn’t sure. She was about to pull her hand back and apologize when Cat reached up and pulled her glasses off, looking intently into Kara’s eyes as though they would hold the answer about what was going to come next.

She must have found whatever she was looking for because suddenly Kara found herself being pulled into a hungry kiss. Her other hand came up to lock onto Cat’s other hip, pulling her closer, feeling quite pleased with herself when she heard Cat make a soft sound of surprise at the new contact.

They tumbled down the hall toward Cat’s bedroom and Kara found herself both wishing they could speed up and slow down. She wanted nothing more than the skin to skin contact that she knew would be coming, but she also wanted to be able to commit this to memory, to lock inside her all the things she was feeling in this moment, not just the want and desire she had for the other woman, but the way it felt to be touched by somebody she actually respected, Cat’s hands on her body feeling nothing like the creep’s from earlier that night.

As they stumbled through the door, Cat kicked it closed behind them, only to find herself being backed up against the mahogany, as her shoulders hit the surface, she felt Kara reaching under her thighs to lift her so they’d be face to face, only meeting each other’s eyes briefly enough to make sure the other was okay with what was happening.

The smirk that had appeared on Cat’s face disappeared as Kara bent to latch onto her pulse point, Cat’s head rolling back against the door, letting out a content sigh as Kara moved further down her chest, popping the buttons on her blouse as she went.

Cat couldn’t help but be surprised, she’d never figured Kara to be one to have so much confidence in this particular arena, she was always so timid and easily flustered at the office. She couldn’t help but wonder whether Kara’s recent adventures as Supergirl contributed toward a confidence boost in other areas.

Her thoughts didn’t stay coherent for long when she found herself being walked backward toward the bed, blouse and bra being left in their wake. Her fingers quickly started to work to get Kara equally as indisposed.

She couldn’t help the pleased feeling settling in her chest at Kara’s deep moan when their skin finally made contact.  Kara had been fairly silent thus far, and if it hadn’t been for the girl’s abundant eagerness Cat would have questioned whether she was really into the interaction at all.

For her part, Kara was focusing on adjusting her senses. There was always a learning curve with a new partner, needing to tweak everything just right so it wasn’t overwhelming nor lackluster. She’d become better at it the older she got, she was at the point now where there was hardly an adjustment time when she was by herself. However, with others she still needed to get to know their specific touch, which was why she tended to throw herself into their pleasure first, giving her the time she needed to calibrate her own senses.

So far, this was setting a record for how fast she’d been able to find her balance with another person. She wasn’t sure if it was because Cat was a woman, because she was already attracted to her, or just because she was already so tired from the rest of the day’s events that her usual defenses weren’t putting up as much of a resistance as usual. Whatever the reason, Kara wasn’t going to complain, just glad to be in this moment.

As Kara worked the zipper of her skirt, Cat couldn’t help but reach up to run her fingers over Kara’s stomach, feeling the muscles pull in response, Kara’s hips jerking forward, pressing so nicely against Cat’s own. She was having trouble holding off any longer and reached forward to tug at Kara’s pants, ready to move things along.

Kara was happy to oblige, and she quickly found a smooth thigh being pressed between her own now bare legs.

“It looks like those superhero quick changes are really paying off.” She commented, the only reply she received was Kara grinding down into her, her message clear, the time for talking was done, not that Cat had anymore words. The only noises she was could come up with now were the deep moans as Kara’s hand reached down between them stopping briefly to trail down her thigh.

Cat was about to snap for her to get on with it when she caught Kara’s questioning eyes and she understood. This girl, who from Cat’s own assumptions, had spent a good amount of her life being thrown into situations she had no control over and was desperate not to inflict that same experience on somebody else.

Though she knew the question in Kara’s eyes was for her, she decided to voice it back to the younger woman, wanting to make sure they were still on the same page. “Is this okay?”

Kara smiled and nodded, “Yes, you?” She asked.

“More than okay.” She promised, her hands making their way to Kara’s back pulling her back in.

Kara wasted no time after that, quickly pulling the leg her hand was still under up to hook around her waist, while finally reaching her other hand down to where Cat wanted her most, easily entering her with two fingers.

She arched up, and it wasn’t long before Kara found herself moving in time to Cat’s hips. Usually when she was with another woman, especially for the first time, Cat preferred to fully enjoy everything her partner had to offer before returning the favor, but tonight she found herself impatient to put her hands on Kara as well, she’d speculate about why later, for now she just wanted to give in to her desire to touch.

Kara, who hadn’t been expecting the move, curled her own fingers inside Cat at the sudden contact and ground down into touch, both of them moaning out for different reasons.

 It didn’t take long for the two of them to settle into an easy rhythm. After a particularly delightful thrust, Cat found herself tumbling over the edge, her thumb reaching up to circle Kara’s clit and pull her along, feeling Kara clench around her told her she’d been successful.

Together they rode out their orgasms before pulling apart, coming to lie side by side, catching their breath.

Kara was about to speak when Cat beat her to it, moving to stand, “Extra espresso in my latte tomorrow.” She said before turning and walking toward her en suite bathroom, “And I’d like an update on those misprints on my desk before I arrive.” She threw over her shoulder.

In any other circumstance, Kara might have been hurt to be dismissed so causally, but in this instance she was grateful, not really having it in her to talk about what this all meant. After hearing the shower kick on, she gathered her clothes and redressed, making sure to grab her glasses out of the kitchen on her way out. She only hoped things wouldn’t be awkward tomorrow.

///

Thankfully, her wish came true, when Cat strolled off the elevator Friday morning she was still the same wonderfully abrasive person she had been the day before.

What was more surprising was that in the weeks to follow, they’d had multiple repeat performances of that first night.

It always went the same way, Cat would send Kara a text requesting some imperative document that she just couldn’t wait until the next morning to have but as soon as Kara handed whatever was being demanded over Cat would set it aside and pull Kara into her, dismissing Kara with a work request before heading to take a shower as soon as they were done.

Until one particular night about three months in. Kara had just heard Cat’s heartbeat level back out to normal and was preparing for the brush-off but instead Cat stayed rooted in place, eyes fixed firmly on the ceiling fan above them.

“Carter wants a dog.” She said suddenly.

If it weren’t for the fact that she didn’t want to break this new pattern, Kara would have laughed, instead she turned her head to the side to watch Cat as she responded. “So, what kind are you going to get?”

Cat’s head snapped to look at Kara as if she’d sprouted another head, “The non-existent kind.” She’d responded, “Do you just assume that I give him whatever he wants?”

“Noo…” Kara drew out, although the truth was that she had, “But Carter is a good, responsible kid. If there’s a thirteen-year-old on this planet that could handle the responsibility of a pet it’s probably him.”

“You’re forgetting that we live on the top floor of a thirty-six story high-rise, so unless you’re planning on flying over to take the damn thing outside multiple times a day, it’s out of the question.”

“Isn’t the roof exclusively yours?” Kara asked, “You could easily turn that into green space.” Kara suggested.

“You’re supposed to be on my side.” Cat said with an eye roll.

“Why? Because you’re my boss?”

“Because _you’re_ naked, in my bed, after what was probably the best sex of your life.” Cat replied.

Kara was once again tempted to laugh, but she couldn’t deny the truth in the statement. Instead she rolled onto her side, propping her head up on her elbow, using her free hand to trace a pattern over Cat’s exposed stomach, smiling at the little trail of goosebumps she left.

“What about camp?” She suggested.

Cat looked at her curiously, “I know I’ve shown you a number of new things dear, but I do have my limits.”

“Not for sex!” Kara said pulling a face, not even knowing that was a thing. “For Carter.” She continued.

“You want to send my son away to camp to…what? Cure him of wanting a dog?” She asked, “What are they going to do? Make him go out back and Ol’ Yeller some poor thing?”

“No! Jesus Cat!” Kara closed her eyes and tried to shake the image from her head. “I was thinking a camp at the humane society, it’s an afterschool program they run. It’d give him a chance to see the animals and care for them, without having to bring one home. Plus, it’d probably look good on a college resume.”

“That’s…actually not a horrible idea. Though I’m not all that keen on him being surrounded by so many mutts. Make sure you do a safety evaluation first.” She ordered.

Kara made a faux surprised face, “Is Cat afraid of dogs?” She joked, which it turned out was how she finally got kicked out that night with a new rule about cat jokes, in bed or anywhere else within a hundred-mile radius of Cat herself.

///

Nonetheless, a new pattern had begun to emerge, less and less was she so often dismissed with a lame work excuse, rather they’d lay in bed, talking or just enjoying a comfortable silence. Kara only leaving right before Carter was due to arrive home.

They’d even begun to see more of each other outside of work and the bedroom (or whatever other room they landed in, so far Kara like Cat’s personal media room the best).

Turns out Cat actually was afraid of dogs, though she didn’t admit it outright. After Kara had completed the requested safety check, which of course came back just fine, Cat had enrolled Carter in a weekly program at the closest humane society to CatCo. headquarters, which met every Tuesday after school and released at 4:30 at which time Cat would send Kara over to pick him up since she herself refused to enter the building because of “germs”. Still, after being dropped off and picked up by one of their drivers, Cat wanted him to have a friendly and consistent face waiting for him when he got out. Knowing Kara was also much more excited in hearing all about what he’d learned and all the dogs he’d helped than any of their chauffeurs, was an added bonus.

By the time Kara and Carter made it back to the penthouse, Cat was usually only a few minutes behind them, at which time Carter would insist that Kara stay for dinner, usually meaning that she’d leave late after both the Grants were tucked away in bed for the night.

///

Tonight, Kara’s presence had been requested at the Grant residence, it was a Friday so she’d assumed they’d be doing something the three of them, on Tuesday Carter had mentioned wanting them to go see a new movie this weekend, although Kara was surprised that Cat had agreed to it on a Friday night, she usually preferred a time when the theater was sure to be less crowded.

After knocking on the door and receiving no response, Kara listened closely for any noise inside, wondering if maybe she got the time or place wrong, but she heard the shower running inside and thought maybe the Grants were just running a little late.

She reached into her purse for her key, she’d been given a copy a few months after being hired as Cat’s assistant so she could pick things up or drop them off when Cat needed her to. Thus far, she’d only used it during work hours or on Tuesdays when she and Carter got home before Cat, but she knew Cat wouldn’t mind her using it now.

“Cat? Carter?” She called out, getting no response, she walked down the hallway toward the sound of the shower, hearing that it was coming from Cat’s private bath, she walked into the bedroom.

“Cat?” She tried again.

“In here.” Came the reply from inside the bathroom.

Kara walked toward the door and pushed it open, peaking her head inside, “Where’s my buddy?” She asked, not wanting him to walk in and find her inside his mother’s bathroom while she showered.

“Sleepover.” Came the short reply.

Kara smiled, Carter had been making some new friends at the humane society. Both she and Cat were happy to see him branching out socially, and Cat was especially happy that the background checks she’d had Kara run on all the other kids in the afterschool program came back clean.

“Just you and me then?” She asked smile still in place.

Cat didn’t answer, instead making a request, “Join me?”

Kara quickly slipped out of her clothes, not caring that she’d just taken a shower and done her hair before coming over.

Pulling the glass door to the shower open, she took a small moment to admire the view of Cat’s back before moving forward and slipping her arms around the woman’s waist.

“Hi.” She whispered, leaning down to kiss the other woman’s cheek before resting her forehead on her shoulder, trailing soft kisses over the water droplets in her wake. Only now realizing how little she’d seen of Cat today. It was odd, they usually spent most of their day together, and even though it hadn’t been particularly busy, now that Kara thought about it, they’d seen each other for less than 40 minutes today.

“Hi.” Cat replied softly, though something about her voice seemed off. Kara wrote it off as her being nervous about Carter’s first sleepover.

“Do you need me to get your back?”

“Hmm.” Cat hummed, pulling Kara’s arms tighter around herself. “I’m done, I just wanted to enjoy the hot water for a few more minutes.”

“Okay.” Kara said, content to give her all the time she needed. There was still something in Cat’s tone that she couldn’t pinpoint but for now she’d let it be.

A few minutes later, when the water temperature had begun to drop and Cat had refused Kara’s offer to use her heat vision to warm it back up, the two stepped out of the shower. Cat pulled out some fresh towels, wrapping one around herself before wrapping the other around Kara, taking the time to dry her off slowly, gently.

It was new, but Kara wasn’t complaining, taking the time to admire the view she had of the other woman. It was a very rare occurrence that she got to see Cat stripped down like this, no make-up or designer dresses, hair still wet and uncurled. Cat was gorgeous all the time, but there was something about seeing her like this, in the way she knew no one else was privy to that filled Kara with butterflies.

“What?” Cat asked when she’d finished and noticed she was being carefully examined.

“You’re beautiful.”

Usually when Kara would complement her like this, she’d respond in kind or say something along the lines of “I know.” Tonight however, she just moved in close, resting her head on Kara’s shoulder and tucking her arms in-between them when Kara’s own arms had come up to wrap around her.

“Are you okay?” Kara finally asked, between the stunted responses and the uncharacteristic tenderness she was getting worried.

“Just tired.” She responded.

“Okay…” Kara said, not convinced. “If you’re tired, we don’t have to do this, I can go if you want, let you get some sleep. Or we could do something different, watch a movie, order some take-out?” She suggested.

Cat just pushed her body closer to Kara’s, turning her head to press a kiss to the crook of Kara’s collarbone, pulling her arms from in-between them to run them down Kara’s sides, before reaching for her hands and pulling her along into the bedroom.

She gently pushed Kara back onto the bed, taking both of their towels and tossing them aside to be worried about later, before returning her attention to Kara, joining her on the bed, straddling her hips, ghosting her fingertips over any skin she could find, starting at Kara’s temples and working her way down to her bellybutton. When she seemed satisfied with what she found, she repeated the same path with her lips.

Kara was once again surprised, she knew Cat was capable of taking it slow, drawing it out, but never before had she been treated so reverently, as though she’d disappear in front of her eyes.

She was content to lay back and enjoy the change, giving Cat as much time as she wanted to explore, until she felt a wet droplet hit her skin, just above her hip. She briefly wondered if Cat’s hair was still dripping, but when she looked down she saw the eyes she’d come to love full of tears.

“Cat…” She sighed out, reaching her hands down to urge Cat back up. When they were face to face, Cat refusing to meet her eye, a far cry from the confident woman she knew. “What’s wrong?”

Cat shook her head and moved to tuck herself closer to Kara, who gladly wrapped her in a tight embrace, wanting to do whatever she could to soothe whatever was bothering her. “Cat…” She tried again after a few moments.

“We can’t do this anymore.” The cold and emotionless voice she said it in was the complete opposite to the way she clung to Kara, pressing her face to her hair and breathing deeply.

“We don’t have to.” Kara said, running and hand through Cat’s hair, and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “We can do something else, or nothing at all, you said you were tired, we can sleep.” She suggested, reaching to grab the blankets that had pooled around them and pulling them up to their shoulders, not wanting Cat, who’s hair was still wet, to get cold.

“No.” Cat said firmly, “Not just tonight, I mean we can’t do this anymore, ever.”

“Are you…” Kara started, not liking where this was going, “Are you breaking up with me?”

“Breaking up implies that there was a relationship, we have sex, it’s different.” She replied.

“The koala bear routine you’re pulling is completely contradicting the words coming out of your mouth.” Kara said.

Cat pulled back and rolled away from her and Kara sighed. “That wasn’t a criticism,” She promised, closing the distance between them again, pulling Cat’s back into her front.

“Is this really just about sex for you?” Kara asked after a moment, Cat’s body was still tense. “Because _I_ thought we’d passed that point a long time ago.” She continued when Cat didn’t reply. Finally, she felt the blonde shift in her arms, turning so they were looking at one another again.

“Really?” Cat questioned. Kara couldn’t remember every seeing her look so vulnerable.

“I thought that was all it was at first,” She admitted, “but now I spend half my time here. I know that Carter can’t sleep without his baby blanket, that you can’t sleep until you know he’s out for the night. I know that you keep a secret jar of Nutella behind those weird wine glasses that you never use but refuse to get rid of. I know that you come hard and fast if I touch you here, but I can draw it out and make it last if I go over here instead.” She said with a smile, hands trailing over Cat’s body, preparing to say the words that had been on her mind for a while, “I know that my heart speeds up with I see you, that hearing you laugh is probably the best sound I’ve ever heard, I know that I don’t want this to end.” She finished. “I don’t think this is just about sex, but if that’s what it is to you, if you don’t want to do this anymore, then that’s okay.” She promised, she was pretty sure Cat felt the same way she did, but she didn’t want to pressure her into something she didn’t want.

Cat stayed silent for a few moments. “Those wine glasses were a gift from Percy when I started CatCo.”

Kara laughed, “Mmhmm.” She hummed, “I knew that too.”

“This isn’t just about sex for you?” She asked, needing the reassurance before she would divulge her own thoughts on the matter.

“No.” Kara swore, “I just – I love you.” She said simply, hoping her own honesty would help Cat with hers.

Kara felt Cat’s body deflate in relief, relaxing. “I love you too.”

Kara couldn’t help the grin that came to her face, certain what she was feeling right now was better than flying. After a few more minutes of silence Kara spoke again, “So…movie, take-out, sleep?”

“Maybe just a small nap.” Cat relented, all the emotions that had been building a finally taking a toll.

“Okay.” Kara said, reaching behind her to click off the lamp.

“But not too long,” Cat swore, “I have plans for you.”

Kara could already feel the heat building between them, “Okay.” She said again, listening as Cat’s breathing evened out.

///

Three months after they had officially declared themselves a couple, Kara and Carter finally convinced Cat to let them get a dog, which Cat insisted meant that Kara moved in as well since she refused to be home alone with the damn thing.

Although Kara did begin to doubt that claim after catching her sneaking him extra milk bones when she thought nobody was paying attention.

It didn’t matter though, she didn’t care how it’d happened, she was just glad to finally be home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? It's currently 3 o'clock in the morning so my judgement is completely skewed.


End file.
